Rajoy’s economics minister Luis de Guindos, in charge of preventing Spain’s bankruptcy, already presided over a major bankruptcy as director for Spain and Portugal of Lehman Brothers. He moved on to Price Waterhouse Coopers where his investment advice proved equally catastrophic.

At Lehman Brothers Luis de Guindos called for investing in RBS Royal Bank of Scotland. €1,000 in shares following his expert advice in 2007 are today worth €29. A second must buy was Fortis. The same investment in the banking giant would now be worth €39. Of course if you had blindly trusted the expert economist and bought shares in the company he worked for, Lehman Brothers would now be worth €0. But Luis de Guindos can be dead wrong in any company. In 2009 at Price Waterhouse Coopers he recommended as pick of the year PP controlled CAM Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, today worth €0. The financial markets will be fully reassured to have one of their own lead Spain into the future.